Today is a super exciting day for Inimitable Books because we’re accomplishing multiple firsts. From the Diary of Agnes Jaeger: The Secrets of Silver Leaf Academy is our first middle grade novel, our first paperback-first fiction release, and our first novel without any third-party content included. That’s right—Veronica King did all the art involved in this book (inside and out). And today, we’re celebrating the beautiful cover.
This story has secret societies, forbidden knowledge, and all those dark academia vibes that we love. Are you ready to enroll in the mysterious Silver Leaf Academy along with our headstrong protagonist? Because if you preorder, you’ll receive a an enamel pin just like the ones given out to students in the novel.
The cover went through many iterations. Our first was actually a very different scene, as you’ll see here:
Veronica then had another vision of the cover—which quickly got thrown out when she had a dream of this cover. Which we agreed was perfect for this book for its vibes and also in comparison to other similar titles.
You’ll may also notice a little crown over Veronica’s last name—a request she made to further differentiate her first middle grade foray from her young adult and debut novel, Down the Well (which you can now preorder a signed copy of here—although we’re still having some problems with shipping setup, so please hold off on placing an order until we post online again about that).
But that doesn’t mean you can’t preorder this book:
From the Diary of Agnes Jaeger: The Secrets of Silver Leaf Academy
Agnes Jaeger's life is turned upside down when she must relocate to live with her estranged aunt, Sibyl, who, up until now, has only been a character in her mother's stories. Now living in a home filled with spider webs and books so old they might crumble, she is thrown into the wolves' den of upper society.
As a mid-semester transfer at Ore Tree's Silver Leaf Academy, Agnes must adjust to her new circumstances that unfortunately include vicious bullies and strict customs she doesn't understand. To make matters worse, her aunt is obsessed with a secret but refuses to share, her classmates are disappearing, and inexplicable incidents keep happening. Can the rumors of a cult be true?
What mysteries are hiding under the polished halls of her new school?
More info →The author and us at Inimitable Books hope you love this book as much as we do. It was a labor of love (as are all our titles), but the crazy timeline we had to complete it makes it even more unique.
The doors to Silver Leaf Academy open in Spring 2025, and we hope you’ll join us when they do!